Blog Questions?

By Søren Simonsen, guest blogger

DEQ invites guest bloggers to share their thoughts on issues that impact our environment. We appreciate their insights and the opportunity to broaden the conversation with others in the community.

You’ll often see Soren Simonsen traveling to work on his bike.

I remember getting my very first road-worthy bike when I turned five. It was a lime-green, three-speed with chopper-style handlebars, a long, metallic sparkling banana seat, and a tall “sissy bar” back rest. So 1970’s!

That bike changed my world. I could go anywhere. Of course, anywhere was relative when you’re five. I lived in a tiny, East-Texas town with a population of less than 200. There was one small convenience store where we’d hang out with friends, and two main roads in and out of town.

Those early days on my bike were probably where my lifelong love of cycling began. I’ve been taking roads less traveled ever since.

A year later, we moved to an Austin suburb. I rode my bike to school, to piano lessons, to the store, to my friends’ houses, and pretty much everywhere else a kid would go. One 4th of July, my older brother and I lashed our two new 10-speed bikes together with 2×4’s to create a “float” as our family entry in the neighborhood parade. It held together…mostly.

My teenage years included many weekend rides through the Central Texas Hill Country—the same hills where Lance Armstrong trained for his professional cycling career. These were beautiful and technically challenging rides with long, slow, grinding climbs and thrilling, high speed, winding downhills where I prayed my tires would grip the road and not blow out.

Biking on the Jordan River parkway

Later, I spent two years in Norway as a Mormon missionary, where I was introduced to the world-renowned bicycling communities of Scandinavia. I was amazed that entire societies could live relatively car-free. I loved the look and feel and vibrancy of those cities and towns, with streets full of people. I was sold.

I returned to the U.S. to dive into study of architecture and urban planning at the University of Texas. There, I learned about the growing negative aspects and impacts of car-centric culture, from sprawling suburbs and their enormous ecological footprint, to lack of physical activity and its associated health risks, to acute air-quality challenges induced by toxic tailpipe emissions, to the loss of physical beauty of cities with little social cohesion or community character.

The summer I graduated and married, I bought twin bicycles for my wife and me. We enjoyed riding trails and byways in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado on our honeymoon. The mountain-biking scene was just expanding beyond its infancy, and we saw many Rocky Mountain winter ski towns starting to capture the summer season bike-culture craze.

The honeymoon ended in Utah and we began our professional careers. I experienced my first winter inversions and summer ozone spikes. Here, my love of cycling quickly evolved from a weekend passion to a fulltime interest and professional endeavor. I’ve spent nearly three decades since then working with local governments in Northern Utah and around the West to develop policies and infrastructure that expand urban and rural cycling facilities.

As an adjunct instructor in urban planning at the University of Utah, I introduce students to the idea that, “When you build cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. When you build cities for people and places, you get people and places” (Fred Kent, Project for Public Spaces). I challenge them to bike to class, to work, and other daily activities, and we identify where the missing pieces of bike networks and facilities exist. More importantly, I encourage them to become champions of change in the communities where they live today, or wherever their life and career paths take them.

Recent completion of the Jordan River Parkway bridge created the longest paved urban trail in the U.S.

Not one to shy away from taking my own advice, I have also spent much of the past 25 years as a champion for change in my own city, Salt Lake City. I’ve seized opportunities to shape public policy and implement improvements in roles with citizen advisory boards, two terms on the City Council, and a decade working with the Jordan River Commission, where I now serve as its executive director. My aim has been to build a first-class bicycle-friendly city equal to our reputation as one of the great outdoor recreation destinations in the world.

We’ve made a ton of progress in that time, adding more than 150 lane-miles of bicycle facilities, I championed policies and projects such as “complete streets,” initiated dozens of experimental bicycle infrastructure projects, led development of the Clear the Air Challenge, and launched the GreenBike bike share program downtown (and am currently working on its expansion further throughout Salt Lake County).

Last November, we celebrated completion of the bridge between North Temple and 200 South on the Jordan River Parkway Trail. This was not only the final project to complete the 45-mile trail between Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake, but also connects over 100 miles of continuous, non-motorized trail from Provo to Ogden, now the longest paved urban trail in the United States.

I’m a big believer that “if you build it, they will come,” when it comes to bicycle infrastructure. The magic is happening. Biking in our city and region is easier than ever. It’s safe. It’s reliable. It’s affordable. It’s healthy. It helps air quality. And it’s fun. And if you see something that needs improvement for cyclists, come see me and we’ll work together to make it happen.

Join me this month for the Clear the Air Challenge. I’ll see you on the streets and trails!

I am the Executive Director of the Jordan River Commission.

This entry was originally published on February 12th, 2018, updated on February 12th, 2018, and posted in news.

Take the Clear the Air Challenge

By Jared Mendenhall

Bertha Benz

In 1888, a housewife changed the course of human history.

Bertha’s husband Karl, an engineer, had fallen into a deep depression because his latest invention failed to live up to its promise. Early one morning, Bertha stole away with his creation to prove to the family it would work. The destination was her mom’s house, 60 miles across the German countryside. Along the trek she made some repairs and improvements to his contraption.

When Bertha Benz returned home, she had proven the viability of her husband’s vision—a horseless carriage powered by an internal-combustion engine. She had also smashed all previous records for automobile travel. The local and international press had a heyday.

The string of events set in motion from that trip ushered in a new age. In less than a century, humans and cars, at least in the U.S., became inseparable. Cars made travel, dare I say, pedestrian. What was once expensive, complicated and dangerous became affordable, easy and safe.

But, the automobile wasn’t without its unintended consequences. Mobile sources (cars and trucks) account for nearly 50 percent of Utah’s air pollution in the winter. This pollution stresses respiratory and cardiovascular systems. In the worst cases, it kills.

Regardless of these human health effects, most of us find it difficult to imagine life without the ease and speed of our cars. To help Wasatch Front residents rethink their dependence on cars, the Salt Lake Chamber hosts the annual Clear the Air Challenge.

The Clear the Air Challenge is a month-long competition where participants try to cut out as many automobile trips as possible. They do this by using healthy transportation alternatives like carpooling, trip chaining and public transportation. Using helpful online and mobile tools, they track their progress. The goal is to show how easy it is to improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion and conserve energy in Utah.

During the past nine years, the Salt Lake Chamber estimates that The Clear the Air Challenge has eliminated one million trips and 4,700 tons of emissions.

How It Works

Sign up for the Clear the Air Challenge at cleartheairchallenge.org. Then, start using the TravelWise Tracker. This tracker will help you find mass transit routes, engage with active transportation, and demonstrate the amount of emissions you can cut with a few simple changes. Many Utah companies and organization have teams set up where you can compete for prizes or bragging rights.

Drive Less

Implementing alternatives to driving alone is an important step toward clean air. By walking, cycling, taking mass transit, carpooling or teleworking, residents are making simple changes in behavior that can improve air quality and their health.

Drive Smarter

Emissions are also cut when drivers combine errands into one trip (trip chaining), keep up on vehicle maintenance, and avoid idling.

Simple steps like chaining trips together can eliminate auto emissions.

We All Win

Bertha Benz’s 120-mile roundtrip revealed to the world the revolutionary power of the internal-combustion engine. In the coming decades, humans will grapple with the most responsible use of this invention and its place in our lives. In the meantime, rethinking the way we use our cars can help reduce emissions today, improve air quality and protect everyone’s health.

The Clear the Air Challenge runs from Feb. 1-28. It isn’t too late to sign up and start experimenting with new ways of moving around. Sign up at cleartheairchallenge.org.

I am a public information officer for DEQ and a former marketer and magazine editor. Follow me on Instagram @Jarv801.

This entry was originally published on February 5th, 2018 and posted in news.

By Jared Mendenhall

Click image for a detailed look at the updated UtahAir app.

In December 2017, when the Wasatch Front choked on a ten-day-long inversion that clogged the valleys with PM2.5 pollution, more than 50,000 Utah residents stayed on top of air-quality conditions by using the Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) mobile app: UtahAir.

UtahAir delivers hourly air-quality data for two pollutants, PM2.5 and ozone. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory monitors in 12 Utah counties provide the data. Action alerts notify people when pollution levels are high. The app also includes color-coded health guidance from EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI). The three-day forecast helps people plan their travel and work schedules during pollution events.

As mobile has become an important part of everyday life, it has empowered users with a wealth of information. In the case of the UtahAir app, this information can be vital. When PM2.5 and ozone pollution reach unhealthy levels, vulnerable populations experience respiratory and cardiovascular stress. If the air quality is really bad, it affects all of us. Awareness of conditions can help change driving habits and protects human health.

As technology evolved, so has the app. Annual updates have added new features and improved tried-and-true ones. The 2018 update is slated for release the first week of February. Users will find a few new features in store:

Universal Language

The latest version of the UtahAir app was completely rewritten in a universal mobile language that services both iOS and Android platforms. This means users can expect a more robust platform delivering hourly updates from our monitors.

GPS

Convenience and customization are key to the latest update. New features include a GPS function that allows users to quickly check the nearest monitor. Users can also earmark and follow monitors from across the state.

Alerts

With local and state regulations in place on days calling for “Voluntary” and “Mandatory” action, alerts are now front and center in the app. This lets users know whether they can burn solid fuels on a given day.

Old Favorites

Features users have grown to love return, too. This includes trend charts with one-hour and 24-hour data, current weather conditions and EPA’s color-coded AQI.

Additionally, Utah’s tribes will continue to provide air-quality data to the app from monitors on tribal lands in the Uinta Basin and northern Box Elder County. This data provides an important peek into the Uinta Basin’s unique ozone pollution in the winter.

Look for the updated UtahAir app in the coming weeks. If you haven’t already downloaded the UtahAir app, visit the App Store or Google Play and search UtahAir. The updated apps make it easier for users to find exactly what they’re looking for.

I am a public information officer for DEQ and a former marketer and magazine editor. Follow me on Instagram @Jarv801.

This entry was originally published on January 29th, 2018 and posted in news.

By Scott Baird

The 2018 Utah Legislature kicks off its 45-day session today, marking the start of an exciting and occasionally hectic time for all of us at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Although we are neutral players in the legislative process, our directors and scientists are available 24/7 to answer questions, provide credible, objective scientific information, and explain the impacts that proposed legislation could have on Utah’s environment.

DEQ’s mission, to safeguard and improve Utah’s air, land, and water through balanced regulation, is reflected in Governor Gary Herbert’s proposed budget, which includes funding for air quality, water quality, and local health departments. These budget priorities also demonstrate our core values of:

Exceptional Service

Commitment to Employees

Credibility and Trust

Continuous Improvement

Our budget requests for 2018 show how our values define who we are as an agency. Our values guide our decisions, actions, and funding priorities.

Air Quality Research ($500,000)

Overall, Utah’s air quality has improved in recent years, but the state’s topography, climate, and atmospheric chemistry continue to create unhealthy air conditions during certain times of the year. Scientists and policymakers agree that the state’s unique situation necessitates a targeted approach: local research for local solutions. Utah-specific research helps DEQ identify the most effective and cost-efficient methods for reducing pollution and improving the state’s air quality.

Research projects that would be conducted under the governor’s $500,000 budget request include:

The impact of wood-burning on mandatory no-burn days

The impact of ammonia emissions from diesel vehicles during winter inversions

Improved emission inventories and air-quality modeling (in partnership with the University of Utah)

Current and future research projects help the state develop cost-effective, targeted regulations that improve air quality and avoid a federal “one-size-fits-all” approach to Utah’s unique air-quality challenges.

Additional Personnel in the Division of Air Quality ($350,000)

The Governor’s budget includes personnel funding of $350,000 for three additional positions in areas with backlogs and unmet needs.

State Implementation Plan (SIP) Development

Values: Exceptional Service, Credibility and Trust

DEQ’s responsibilities for developing State Implementation Plans (SIPs) extend beyond the Serious PM2.5 SIP and the upcoming ozone SIP. The Division of Air Quality (DAQ) is also responsible for developing SIPs for other criteria pollutants, including sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM10). Hiring an additional environmental scientist to take on SIP development responsibilities — including the identification and evaluation of potential control strategies — would ensure the timely completion of accurate, approvable SIPs, allowing us to meet important federal standards.

Technical Analysis

Values: Credibility and Trust, Continuous Improvement

Recent modeling and research on air pollution episodes have pointed to ammonia as a larger contributor to the formation of PM2.5 along the Wasatch Front than previously thought. However, scientists still need to identify possible sources of this pollutant. An emissions inventory that accounts for these potential sources of ammonia will allow DAQ to develop, implement, and track the effectiveness of new regulations to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). A new environmental scientist dedicated to identifying the numerous small sources that contribute to the state’s high ammonia levels will improve our understanding of current conditions, giving us the necessary data to create more effective and cost-conscious control strategies for PM2.5.

Stack Testing

Values: Exceptional Service, Credibility and Trust

Stack testing is a direct measurement of emissions from industrial air-pollution sources. This testing is the only way to quantify actual emissions and verify the design and operation of air-pollution control technologies. These data help DAQ assess the effectiveness of control strategies to meet federal air-pollution standards. Over the past 10 years, stack test requirements have grown in number and complexity; the five full-time employees assigned to perform stack-test audits can’t keep up with the increased workload. An additional stack test auditor will ensure DAQ can keep up with the workload and continue to provide exceptional service to our customers.

Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Response ($305,000)

Values: Exceptional Service, Credibility and Trust

The Division of Water Quality (DWQ) has identified over two dozen priority waterbodies statewide that are at-risk for excessive algal growth, including toxin-producing harmful algal blooms (HABs). These blooms pose a health risk to the public and produce a range of adverse economic and ecological impacts to Utah’s waterways. DWQ doesn’t have sufficient resources to monitor this increasing threat. Local health departments (LHDs) depend on DWQ to provide timely water-quality data to make health-advisory decisions, and water treatment facilities don’t currently target their monitoring towards the identification of possible HABs or toxins in their finished or source water. Additional resources will allow DWQ to provide the data needed to better coordinate our efforts with other state agencies and respond more effectively to HABs events. This critical funding would support:

Resources for LHDs to provide on-shore sampling, post health advisories, and alert the public of water conditions

Follow-up sampling to monitor bloom activity

Enhanced protection of the public from the health risks from HABs

Local Health Departments ($500,000)

The Governor’s budget also includes an additional $500,000 of ongoing funding for local health departments, with DEQ acting as the pass-through. This additional money would ensure that LHDs could continue to provide critical environmental services in the face of increasing population growth and economic development. General Environmental Quality Services covered under this funding would include:

Review and approval of building permits and subdivision plats to ensure adequate wastewater disposal, septic system density, drinking-water source protection

Implementation of local air-quality programs

Hazardous materials spills response

Oversight of solid waste complaints/activities

Our mission is to safeguard the health and well-being of every Utah resident by protecting and improving our state’s air, land, and water. It’s a mission that, along with our values, we take very seriously. We appreciate the opportunity each year to support that mission by participating in the legislative process.

Want to learn more about the 2018 legislative session? Visit the Utah Legislature’s website for a calendar of scheduled hearings and floor votes, bills, committees, and information about your state senator or representative. DEQ keeps a running tally of environmental legislation throughout the session; check for daily updates on our legislative webpage. You can also create your own personalized list using the legislative bill tracker.

As the Deputy Director over Policy, Planning and Operational Improvement, I enjoy working with legislators, stakeholders and our employees in finding ways to improve how we do our work. Prior to joining DEQ, I worked in the Governor’s Offices in Utah and Washington and with Deloitte Consulting in D.C., where I helped state and federal agencies identify and implement opportunities to improve. I earned my Bachelor’s Degree at Brigham Young University and my Masters in Public Administration (MPA) and JD degrees from Syracuse University. I LOVE to get outdoors and enjoy SKIING, running, hiking, backpacking, camping, working in the yard, fixing up our broken-down house, and anything else I can convince my wife and four daughters to do with me…oh yeah, and I really like ice cream!

This entry was originally published on January 22nd, 2018 and posted in news.

By Jan Poulsen, Guest Blogger

DEQ invites guest bloggers to share their thoughts on issues that impact our environment. We appreciate their insights and the opportunity to broaden the conversation with others in the community.

DEQ’s Radon Coordinator and I make presentations about radon across the Salt Lake Valley. I share my story about the health risks of radon and talk with residents about the importance of testing their homes.

My name is Jan Poulsen, and I am a lung cancer survivor. I want to share my story in the hopes that it might prevent even one person from getting lung cancer. We have all heard many times that smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. But did you know that the second leading cause of lung cancer is radon gas? Each year, approximately 160,000 Americans die from lung cancer, and about 22,000 of those die from radon-induced lung cancer.

I’m one of those people whose lung cancer was caused by exposure to high levels of radon in their home. In May 2007, I got a phone call from the doctor who had performed a biopsy on a mass in my lung. He said, “I am sorry to tell you that you have lung cancer, and it is inoperable. I would say you have about four months to live.”

Lung cancer? But I had never smoked!

I made an appointment with an oncologist, and the next thing, I knew, I was in the hospital about to have my entire right lung removed. I underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments following the surgery. It took some time, but I slowly got my strength back. I was found cancer-free after five years and released. Then, during my sixth year of remission, an MRI showed a very large tumor in the front of my brain and a smaller tumor in the back of my brain, most likely due to the spread of the lung cancer. I had brain surgery to remove the large tumor, and a month later had a radiation procedure, to remove the smaller tumor. I was in remission until November 2014, when I had to have the radiation procedure again to remove 6 more tumors from my brain. I have been told by my physicians that I am currently in remission.

Lung cancer is the “bad boy” of cancers. It is the deadliest of all cancers and kills more people annually than the next four cancers — breast, colon, pancreatic, and prostate — combined. People assume that if you have lung cancer, you must be a smoker, but that’s not true. There are no routine screenings for lung cancer, and many times there are no symptoms. So by the time it is detected, it is at stage 3 or 4 and has already spread.

So how does radon fit into the picture?

Click on photo for a larger view

Radon is a naturally occurring gas caused by the decomposition of uranium-bearing granite in our soil. It is all around us, but becomes dangerous when it becomes concentrated in our airtight homes. You can’t see, smell, or taste it, and unlike carbon monoxide, it does not make you sick immediately.

As I said earlier, my lung cancer was caused by radon gas. Shortly after my diagnosis, we had our home tested for radon. An earlier test when we bought the home came in at 2.2 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). After a big remodel and digging a walk-out basement, our second test came back at 24.9 pCi/L, six times the EPA-recommended action level! Apparently disturbing the soil and knocking out walls created new avenues for radon to enter our home. We had a mitigation system installed, which brought our radon level down to 1.7 pCi/L.

The only way to know if your home is safe from radon is to test it. There is an easy short-term test that you can order from the Department of Environmental Quality. The kit costs about $9 and includes the processing fee. Just follow the directions on the package, leave it in your basement or lowest level of your home for two to four days, mail it in, and wait for the company to email you the results. If the level is higher than 4.0 pCi/L, you will want to contact a certified radon mitigation expert to do further testing or install a radon mitigation system.

Mitigation isn’t as expensive as you may think. It can typically can be done for $1500 or less. The cost of my lung cancer treatment to date is running upwards of $1.25 million, so mitigation is pretty cost-effective if you think about it.

So please test your home for radon. Preventing lung cancer is so much easier and less costly than treating lung cancer.

January is National Radon Action Month. Winter is the perfect time to test your home for radon because your doors and windows are closed. Testing your home is the only way to know whether your home has elevated levels. Order your radon test kit today–it’s the best way to protect yourself and your family from the hidden hazards of radon gas.

I am currently retired, but I spent over 20 years as a travel agent, and was a volunteer at school, church, and with the Cottonwood Heights Figure Skating Club. For ten years, I managed the only synchronized skating team in Utah. My husband is a pediatric dentist, and we have 2 grown daughters. No grandchildren, but three granddogs! I had to retire from the travel industry and my volunteer work when I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Now my mission is to again volunteer, but this time I hope to be saving lives by sharing my story about how radon has affected my life. I am a proud member of the Utah Radon Coalition and the Utah Radon Policy Coalition, and a local advocate and organizer for LUNGevity.

This entry was originally published on January 16th, 2018, updated on January 16th, 2018, and posted in news.

By Donna Kemp Spangler

Photo credit: Lonnie Shull

Since Earth Day 2014, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality has offered weekly blogs written by our scientists, engineers, and environmental partners that highlight important environmental issues affecting Utahns. A new blog is posted every Monday on the DEQ web page.

Our 2017 blogs focused on a wide range of issues relevant to Utah’s environmental quality. They are designed to inform and entertain our readers while providing an “inside look” at the many ways DEQ works to improve Utah’s air, land and water through balanced regulation.

I invite you to take a look at our most popular blogs in 2017 to learn more about the environmental issues that affect all of us.

DEQ: Air Scientists Have Eyes in the Sky for PM2.5. This blog spotlighted a collaborative air-quality study by DAQ, NOAA, EPA and universities. Using a specially equipped Twin Otter plane, researchers were able to measure upper-atmosphere chemical conditions during a winter inversion. These measurements provided scientists with critical data on the chemical reactions that lead to the formation of PM2.5

Have a blog you want to share? Contact me for consideration. I invite you to visit our blog, posted every Monday at 11 a.m. and later in the day on our Facebook page, to stay informed about important environmental issues while getting to know the people at DEQ who work to protect and improve Utah’s air, land and water.

I am the Communications Director for DEQ and a former reporter for the Deseret News. I write an occasional blog. You can find me on Twitter @deqdonna.

This entry was originally published on January 8th, 2018 and posted in news.